Stiffened woven fabric



July 17, 1956 w. F. FOLEY 2,754,855

STIFFENED WOVEN FABRIC Filed Dec; 11, 1953 ZSheets-Sheo; 1

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July 17, 1956 w. F. FOLEY STIFFENED WOVEN FABRIC 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 11, 1953 INVENTOR. 6052256721 E F026? BY ZW'M United States Patent STIFFENED WOVEN FABRIC William F. Foley, Seekonk, Mass., assignor to Ansonia Mills Incorporated, East Taunton, Mass., a corporation of Connecticut Application December 11, 1953, Serial No. 397,526 5 Claims. (Cl. 139--384) This invention relates to themanufacture of a stiifened woven fabric adapted for use in foundation garments and particularly is an improvement of the woven fabrics disclosed in United States Patent No. 2,096,835, issued October '26, 1937, to Louis J. A. Amyot and United States Patent No. 2,609,013, issued September 2, 1952, to Pierre Amyot.

In essence the above-named patents disclose fabrics woven of relatively light thread having individual relatively heavy stiffening cords incorporated weft-wise into the fabric in a novel manner. In this invention each relatively heavy cord is replaced by a plurality of picks of weft of a size equal to the picks comprising the body or ground of the fabric. 'The plurality of picks substittuted for each of the heavy cords perform substantially the same function as said cords, but the advantages achieved by such a change are totally unexpected in the light of what would appear to be a simple substitution.

A textile mill engaged in the manufacture of fabric of the type disclosed in the Amyot patents operates under numerous disadvantages. Because the automatic looms commonly used today are incapable of efliciently handling threads of different sizes simultaneously, otherwise obsolete hand-change looms must be employed to weave the patented fabrics. Hand-change looms are appreciably slower than present day automatic looms and require periodic shut-down to aiford an operator time to replace exhausted shuttles carrying the heavy cords. Moreover, an operator is capable of attending but one-tenth as many hand-change looms as modern automatic looms.

The fabric of this invention, on the'contrary, is suitable for production on the modern looms found in any textile mill of today. No special equipment is required to produce the cloth and there is no need for refurbishing long outmoded machinery. In view of the ability to employ modern equipment, production of the desired fabrics may be greatly increased at minimum labor cost.

The benefits :derivedafrom this invention, therefore, may be summarized as follows: production is appreciably increased while labor costs are substantially decreased; hence, manufacturing costs are considerably reduced.

The primary object of this invention, therefore, is to providea stiffened fabric capaeleor being produced under modern methods of manufacture.

Another object of this invention is to reduce appreciably the cost of producing stiffened Woven fabric adapted for use in foundation garments.

In accomplishing these and other objects I provide as one important feature of this invention a plurality of bundles of picks extending weft-wise of a fabric to act as stiffeners, said picks each being of a weight equal to the weight of the other picks comprising the ground of the fabric.

These and other objects and features of this invention will be more readily understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments therefor selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a View in perspective of a section of fabric constructed in accordance with this invention, showing the fabric loosely woven to illustrate more clearly the nature of the weave,

Figs. 2-4 are diagrammatic views showing the first, second and fourth warp ends of a series in relation to the picks of the weft,

Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of another section of fabric constructed in accordance with this invention, showing the fabric loosely woven to illustrate more clearly the nature of the weave, and

Figs. 611 are diagrammatic views showing a series of six warp ends in relation to the picks of the weft.

Proceeding now to a detailed description of this invention by reference to Fig. 1 it may be seen that the fabric comprising this invention is composed of a plurality of interwoven warp ends 20, 22 and 24 and picks of Weft A, B, C, D, E, F and G. As viewed in Fig. 1, the cloth may be regarded as produced .by movement generally to the left.

As the cloth is woven, the loom is arranged to weave alternate stiffened and unstiffened areas. Proceeding from left to right in Fig. 1, picks A, B and C are woven by the travel of a shuttle across the loom in the conventional manner. After each pick is interwoven with the warp, it is moved to the left in close proximity to the preceding pick forming a closely woven cloth of the simplest construction having no stiffening properties.

The next operation is to form a pocket in the fabric to receive stiffening picks V, X, Y and Z. To accomplish this the warp is separated into -lower and upper courses, the warp ends 22 forming the bottom of the pocket and the warp ends 20 and 24 forming the top thereof. To complete the 'top of the pocket, picks D, E, F and G are interwoven with the warp .ends .20 and 24 by a conventional one-an'd-one weave, pick D overlying warp ends 24 and underlying warp ends 20, pick E overlying warp ends 20 and underlying warp ends 24, pick F overlying warp ends 24 and underlying warp ends 20, and pick G overlying warp ends 29 and underlying warp ends 24. During this operation, the warp ends 22 are permitted to idle.

After the pocket has been completed by the picks D, E, F and "G, four stiffening picks V, X, Y and Z are deposited in it. Then the cycle is repeated, three picks .A", B and C being inter-woven in the conventional manner 'with the warp, .followed by another array of stiffening -picks (not shown). Picks A, B and C close the pocket and lock the upper and lower courses in a fixed position.

When picks A, B and C are moved to the "left, the upper face of 'the pocket becomes rounded, generally conforming in contour to the pile of stiffening pic'ks beneath 'it while the bottom of the pocket remains relatively flat, leaving rather closely sepaced ribs running weft-Wise of the cloth throughout its length.

Proceeding now to ;a description of the preferred embodiment of thisinventionillustrated in Figs. 5.1:l,, it may be seen that the fabric comprising this embodiment contains alternate stiffened and normal sections. The cloth as illustrated in Fig. 5 may be regarded as produced by movement generally to the left. The warp ends are arranged in a series of numerical sequence 42, 44, 46, 48, 50 and 52, of which warp ends 42, 44, 48 and 50 comprise the upper course while warp ends 46 and 52 comprise the lower course in the stiffened section. Interwoven with the warp are a series of picks L, M, N, O, P, Q, R and K.

Considering in detail the construction of the preferred fabric and proceeding from left to right in Fig. 5, pick K which completes the weft for the preceding series is woven in a one-and-one weave with warp ends 42, 44, 48 and 50 forming the top of the preceding pocket. A plurality of picks in normal operation would be inserted in the pocket formed by the upper and lower courses, but the picks are not illustrated in Fig. 5 for they would be moved under pick K to the left beyond the edge of the portion of the fabric shown.

A binder pick L which serves as the first pick of the succeeding series is passed over and under warp ends 46 and 52 overlying the warp ends 42, 44, 48 and 50 of the upper course. The pick L is then moved to the left to tighten the preceding pocket about the stiffening picks normally inserted. A second binder pick M is then passed under warp end 46 and over warp end 52 of the lower course, overlying the warp ends 42, 44, 48 and 50 in the same manner as pick L. Subsequently pick M is moved to the left in close association with the pick L, forming an unstiffened or normal section of fabric similar to that formed by the picks A, B and C of the previously described embodiment. Picks L and M serve to lock the upper and lower courses in position so that the next pocket to be formed will be separate and distinct frornl the preceding pocket.

The top of the pocket is now formed by weaving picks N, O, P, Q, R, and K with the top warp ends 42, 44, 48 and 50 in a one-and-one weave, each pick being in opposite phase with the pick preceding it. The bottom warp ends 46 and 52 are permitted to idle. A plurality of stiffening picks of a weight equal to the picks of the group are then inserted in the pocket weft-wise of the fabric. The next operation is to weave the binder picks L and M of the succeeding series with the warp to close the pocket and lock the stiffening thread in position. Pick L is carried across the loom over warp ends 42, 44, 46, 48 and 50 and under warp end 52 while the binder pick M is deposited over warp ends 42 and 44, under warp end 46, and over warp ends 48, 50 and 52. The binder picks are then moved tightly to the left, causing the upper surface of the pocket to become rounded, generally conforming in contour to the pile of stiffening picks.

Although in each embodiment four stiffening picks have been described and illustrated in each pocket, the fabric of this invention is obviously not limited to that number. The particular stiffness desired will determine the number of stiffening picks used. The use of four picks, however, has proved optimum, when the fabric is to be used in foundation garments, in that sufficient stiffness is derived without excessive bulk.

Each of the fabrics described may be made on any conventional loom in use today. The use of stiffening picks of a weight and'size equal to the other picks in the fabric does away with the need of outmoded equipment. Moreover, the need for manual attention is eliminated, and all the important advantages set forth in the introductry portion of this specification are acquired. From the foregoing description, those skilled in the art will appreciate that because all of the picks of weft are of the same weight and size, the fabric could be produced on either a single shuttle or multi-shuttle loom, although a single shuttle loom is preferred for obvious economic reasons.

A the weft.

2. In a woven fabric, a plurality of spaced apart bundles of stiffening picks running weft-wise of the fabric, a plu' rality of warp ends overlying said bundle of stiffening picks, additional warp ends underlying said stiffening picks forming with the first named warp ends a pocket for said stiffening picks, and a plurality of picks interwoven with the warp separating the pockets containing said stiffening picks, all of the picks being of the same weight and size.

3. In a stiffened woven fabric, a plurality of warp ends, a first group of picks interwoven with all the warp ends, a second group of picks interwoven with alternate warp ends forming a cover of a pocket, the other of said warp ends forming a bottom for said pocket, a plurality of stiffening picks inserted into said pocket running weftwise of the fabric, said stiffening picks being of a weight and size equal to the weight of the picks of the first group, and an additional group of picks equal in size and weight to the other picks and interwoven with all of said warp ends closing said pocket.

4. A stiffened woven fabric comprising a plurality of warp ends, some of said warp ends comprising an upper course and the other of said warp ends forming a lower course, a first group of picks of weft interwoven with all of said warp ends securing said courses together, a second group of picks of weft interwoven with said upper course of warp ends adjacent said first group of picks of weft, a bundle of picks inserted weft-wise of the fabric between the two courses and underlying said second group of picks, and additional picks of weft interwoven with all of said warps beyond said second group of picks to secure said bundle of picks in position, all of the picks being of the same weight and size.

5. A stiffened woven fabric comprising an upper course of warp ends and a lower course of warp ends, a first group of picks interwoven with the lower course of warp ends and overlying the upper course of warp ends, a second group of picks interwoven with the upper course of warp ends, a plurality of picks inserted weft-wise of the fabric between said courses adjacent said first group of picks and said second group of picks, and additional picks interwoven with said bottom course of warp ends and overlying said upper course of warp ends to secure the plurality of picks in position, all of the picks being of the same weight and size.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,934,865 Legat Nov. 14, 1933 2,061,073 Hendley Nov. 17, 1936 2,324,565 Daniels July 20, 1943 2,424,928 Glendinning July 29, 1947 2,609,013 Amyot Sept. 2, 1952 

